Table For Two
by fanatic218
Summary: Emily and Hotch go on a date, but is there an ulterior motive?  Fun, fluffy, slightly AU story.  R&R please!


_A/N~ I haven't put up a new story in soooo long! Hope this will help make up for that!_

"Daddy!" Aaron Hotchner turned away from the counter in the BAU break room, setting his newly poured cup of coffee down just in time to catch an excited five year old in his arms and hoist him up onto his hip.

"Hey buddy! Where did you get that lolipop?" Hotch asked, dodging his head to the left to avoid it getting stuck in his hair. Jack stuck it back into his mouth.

"Miz M'wy gwav i oo mwe wen I gwat hewre n i hay favwrit!" he said around the candy. Hotch's eyes crinkled and he moved it from his mouth and prompted him to start again.

"Miss Em'ly gave it to me when I got here and it my favorite!" he said with a big grin, proudly thrusting the candy out to show his father.

"Wow bud! Did you say thank you to Miss Emily?" _Please say yes..._

"Yep! She's talking to Auntie Jessie now 'cause Auntie Jessie is going on a dinner!" the little boy said already preoccupied with his sucker again.

"You mean she's going on a date?" Hotch asked. Jack nodded. Well shit. It would have been nice to find that out before now. He wanted Jessica to be happy, he really did, and he knew that she was single and looking, but the protective side of him, the side that had acted like a big brother to her since his junior year of high school, was flaring up. Who was this guy? Was this the first date? Why had she not said anything? Did he have a record? On a 'list'? With all the evil he saw everyday, that protective big brother side quickly transformed into over analytic FBI profiler on a mission. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the voice of the lovely Emily Prentiss gradually getting louder.

"Bye Jess! Have a good time!" she yelled behind her, and Hotch caught a glimpse of his ex-sister-in-law walking out the doors of the bullpen. Walking up to Hotch who was facing away from the counter, she stood facing it very close of him, turning her head to whisper softly in his ear while filling up her coffee cup.

"Blind date set up by an old friend from college whom she trusts. Name is Chris Jackson, and they are meeting at the new Greek place on 2nd in fourty-five minutes." Hotch let out a sigh of relief. What would he do without her? That relief was suddenly replaced by more anxiety. Who was this Chris Jackson?

"Rossi isn't doing anything tonight, so you can drop Jack off with him if you want to go check this guy out." Was she a mind reader? "I'll go get his info from Garcia while you do that." Yep, she was. Hotch caught her eye and nodded his thanks before he walked up to Rossi's office with Jack, who was still sucking on his lollipop.

"Hey buddy, do you want to hang out with Mr. Rossi tonight?"

/

"Hey PG, I need a favor," Emily said upon walking into the tech goddess' office.

"Give me the word and I'll make sure my deft little fingers will get to work making you happy sunshine!" came the reply.

"You just flirt with everything with a pulse, don't you? You need to stop hanging out with Morgan," she fired back teasingly. Banter was always easy with Garcia.

"Haha. Now what do you need sugar?"

"Everything you've got on a Christopher Jackson," she said, hoping Garcia wouldn't ask too many questions. Garcia sharply turned in her decked out swivel chair and put her computer systems to work.

"Case?"

"Umm...yes?"

Garcia stopped scrolling through information and turned around to face her friend. "Emily Prentiss, are you using FBI resources to find information on a dashing young lad that you fancy?" she asked with a mix of disbelieve and mischief. But mainly mischief.

"Nooooo, I am using FBI resources to check out a potentially dangerous person who is on a date with a friend. And that is all you're getting!" she said with a sly grin.

"Ugh, fine." Garcia went back to her computers. "I have two Christopher Jackson's in the DC area, both attractive, wealthy, and mid thirties. Except one's a doctor and the other is a suspected drug dealer," she said raising her eyebrows.

"Can you print out all that info for me?" Garcia handed her the papers fresh out of the printer before Emily even finished her sentence.

"Your the best PG!" she called back over her shoulder as walked out the door.

/

Meeting Hotch by the elevator with the two files, the duo stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button to the parking garage.

"Do you mind if we take your car? Jack's car seat is in mine and Dave might need it," Hotch said as the walked out. Tugging her jacket tighter around her thin frame, Emily quickly agreed and led the way to her '11 Mercedes.

"Ok, so there are really two outcomes. Christopher Jackson #1 is a 34 year old wealthy doctor, never married, no kids. Works at Washington Methodist. No complaints as a practitioner, and legally, nothing as much as a speeding ticket. This guy is pretty much a catch. Actually, could you check to see if he has a brother..." she said as an afterthought, reaching for the file in his hand. Hotch lightly hit her hand away.

"Focus Prentiss. Sounds good on paper. And Christopher Jackson #2?"

"Uh, yeah. He's a suspected drug dealer. There's never been any hard evidence to arrest him, but he has suspected organized crime connections. So, bad on paper. So what do you propose we do?"

Hotch was silent for a short moment. "We?"

Emily rolled her eyes, happy he didn't see, as he was still looking at date #2's file. "Come on Hotch, of course we."

"Alright, fine. This Greek place, is it nice?"

"Oooh yesss. Five stars, great atmosphere, and expensive. Not a place we can just stick our heads into and see which Jackson it is. And if you want to be discrete, which I would think you would, we can't exactly flash our badges in their either."

Hotch nodded. "We're going to have to do an undercover stint. Get a table and observe without either noticing." He tried not to grin at the small amount of glee that flashed across her face.

"Awesome. I've been wanting to try this place since it opened, but haven't found time," she said with a small smile. _Was this weird? Going to dinner with my boss at a five star restaurant to spy on his ex-sister-in-law to make sure her date wasn't a drug dealer. Well when you phrase it that way..._

The rest of the ride was filled with a comfortable silence. Emily pulled up into a parking spot in the back and they hopped out. Her gasp immediately set Hotch on full alert. He was on her side of the car within seconds. "Emily!"

"Oh, no sorry. I just realized that I can't go into this place in this sweater and pants. I think I still have a dress in the back..." she said opening the back door of her car. It was Hotch's turn to roll his eyes.

"Really Prentiss? You look fine." Wait, did he just say that aloud?

"Men." He could hear the smirk in her reply. "We need to blend in, and how many times do I get to go undercover as someone who is _not_ trying to seduce a serial killer?"

"You do realize that you are not going to seduce this man?," he asked loosening his tie. She had a point; they did look like they just came from work.

"Oh, well thanks for saying something. Would have made things awkward," she said with thick sarcasm, trying as hard as she could not to roll her eyes. "Now I have to change in the back seat, so you need to skidadle," she said moving her hands in a 'shoo' motion before taking his tie and draping it over the front passenger seat. Hotch backed away with raised eyebrows, one hand raised in defense, the other undo the first two button of his pristine white dress shirt.

Hotch found a place to stand far enough away from both the window of of the restaurant and Emily's car so that he could not be seen or see anything. Not that the latter would be such a bad thing...

_Careful, Aaron._

"Hotch?" Hotch stepped out from his hiding place between two cars and into the street, where the sight he saw took his breath away. She looked...wow.

The black dress hit just above her knees, and though it wasn't skin tight, it accentuated her curves beautifully. And where did she get those sinfully high heels from? And was her makeup and hair like that before?

"Emily, wow," he said breathlessly. _No! Control, control, CONTROL!_ Her smile was worth it. He noticed her unconsciously smoothing out imaginary wrinkles and took the few steps towards her, grabbing her hand and giving it a light squeeze. "Don't mess with perfection." _Shit!_

"If you keep it up Agent Hotchner, there may be a sexual harassment complaint sitting on your desk come Monday morning," she said with a wide smile to show him she was just kidding. He scoffed.

"Oh come on! If _that_ gets me a complaint, how does Rossi still have a job?" She let out a loud laugh, and the sound was so sweet. Hotch made note to make her do that more often.

"Come on Agent Hotchner, we've got a mission to complete!"

/

As wonderful and freeing as their banter in the parking lot was, the second they stepped into the restaurant it was all business. The smiles on both of their faces vanished, and just like a switch, they were in SSA mode. Emily leaned against Hotch's broad chest and rested her head on his shoulder to give off the illusion that they were a couple. Their eyes simultaneously discretely searched for Jessica and her wonderful or dangerous date. Hotch squeezed her hip to get her attention and when she tilted her head to look up at him, he used his eyes to gesture towards Jessica, sitting alone. She slightly nodded then smiled at the hostess as she called for the next group in line.

"Table for two?" she said with a plastered on smile.

"Table for two," Hotch confirmed with a small smile. Their table was prefect. They were against a wall behind Jessica, so she could not see them, but they would both she the back of her and the face of her date, whenever he showed up.

"Is he standing her up?" Hotch asked aloud.

"Actually, that might be a good sign. If it's the doctor, his shift could have been running late," Emily said trying to remain optimistic.

"Or his drug shipment could be running late," Hotch deadpanned. They continued to watch Jessica for the next five minutes as she got more and more anxious, the times between checking her phone becoming shorter and shorter. Hotch too, Emily noticed, was getting more annoyed by the second. In a few minutes, he was going to be full blown pissed. For everyone's sake, Emily prayed his guy would get here soon. The anticipation was killing everyone.

"Hi, my name is Anna and I will be your server..." she trailed off after taking one look at Hotch's face. "Why don't I just come back later?" and without another word from either party (but an apologetic look from Emily), she quickly walked away. After another few (painful) minutes, the pair heard the soft bell from the entrance ring, signaling the arrival of a new patron. Blonde, nice suit, light blue dress shirt that brought out his bright blue eyes. If she wasn't already interested in someone else, Emily would have been all over that man. She eyed the man sitting directly in front of her. _Oh yeah, _she thought. _Definitely into someone else._

Hotch was visibly less tense now that someone had indeed shown up, and he didn't really look like a drug dealer. But he of all people knew that looks could be deceiving.

Turning his head as not to seem conspicuous, he watched the two shake hands and sit, smiling at each other. With his other eye his looked at Emily.

"_Dr. Jackson" _she mouthed with a smile. Hotch's posture relaxed and a deep sign escaped. They sat in a more comfortable silence this time, both gathering their thoughts.

"Well, we're already here, so why don't we order some food?" Hotch finally said. The smile he got from Emily caused him to smile back as she eagerly nodded her head. He caught the eye of the waitress, trying to show more friendliness the first time around.

Like back in the parking lot, they quickly fell back into their easy banter. The things they talked about weren't serious - they weren't overstepping professional boundaries, more like teetering along them. But just because it seemed like nothing more than a friendly chat, it was so much more to both of them. Which did overstep a TON of professional boundaries.

Neither noticed how they had leaned closer to each other, even from across the table, until the waitress came up to hand the check to Hotch. Emily tried to snatch it from his grip as Anna turned and walked away, but Hotch swiftly yanked his hand out of the way to keep it away with an amused look on his face.

"Do you really think I'm going to make you pay after you just helped me make sure my sister isn't in mortal danger?"

"Hotch-"

"No. Forget it. You gave Jack a lollipop earlier too."

"Oh yeah, that makes us even," she said sarcastically with another eye roll, one that he saw this time. He leaned forward as she did, and their faces were inches apart.

"Just let me get this one."

"This one? Are you saying that there will there be other undercover dates to be spying on family members dates in the future?" she asked smiling, and he couldn't help but return it. _Might as well go for it,_ Hotch thought.

"Maybe just a date, if that isn't two forward, that is," he said, being careful to maintain their intense eye contact. The look of surprise then happiness that crossed through her eyes caused him to smile broadly. And just as she opened her mouth (presumably to accept, he hoped), a different female voice pulled them out of their private world.

"Aaron? Emily? What are you two doing here?"

The both froze, seeing the shock, guilt, and panic in each others eyes.

"Busted," Emily whispered.

_A/N~ Took me long enough to post this! Let me know what you think!_


End file.
